Home
/
LifeReady
/
Gordon and Joyce Carper Integrity in Leadership Mentoring Program

Gordon and Joyce Carper Integrity in Leadership Mentoring Program

The Gordon and Joyce Carper Integrity in Leadership
Mentoring Program has been in operation several years with growing numbers of students and mentors meeting twice monthly in groups of about five for in-depth discussion, case studies, review of readings, and learning firsthand from people experienced in making difficult real-life decisions.

The program could not be more
appropriately named. The late Dr. Carper was a legendary Berry faculty member whose impact on his students remains profound and lasting. Together, Dr. Carper and his wife, Joyce, spent the better part of their lives mentoring Berry students in ways that, in the words of one former student, “changed the course
of our lives entirely and forever.”

We are moving steadily toward a goal of at least 200 students meeting regularly with 40
mentors from the business, nonprofit and volunteer-service
communities. Juniors and seniors are eligible to be interviewed
for the program after recommendation by a faculty or staff member. Our growing list of mentors could not be more outstanding, including a former Georgia Supreme Court chief justice, a retired school superintendent, a retired wealth management executive and an oncologist, to name only a few.

Students are hailing interaction with their mentors as one of their best Berry experiences.

Students are saying ...

“There is more to leadership than just what you do. It is
how you do it, why you do it, and the training and work you put into it.”

“Always act with integrity. Being a leader is a mindset, not
a position. Act as if every leadership decision you made were going to be
publicized on the news.”

“This broadened my focus from Berry to the much larger
community. It helped me to think about applying what I’m learning in the
classroom to how I can start shaping my future now.”

“[My mentor] defines leadership
in his daily actions and has taught me so many valuable life lessons. I am now
better prepared to enter into my senior year. I believe that this program has made all
the difference in my future in any leadership role.”